In 2025, there was a headline that touched both the hearts and the taste buds of many longtime Detroiters when Keurig Dr Pepper, the current makers of Vernors ginger ale, released a limited-edition “Boston Cooler” flavor.
The Boston Cooler, an iconic mingling of vanilla ice cream and Vernors ginger ale, is as quintessentially Detroit as coney dogs, Better Made potato chips and Sanders Bumpy Cake. And it has been enjoyed by Detroiters — all Michiganders, really — from all walks of life since the late 1800s.
While the novelty flavored pop had its moment, for real Boston Cooler devotees, there is nothing quite like the real thing, made with care by a real person.
That is why Boston Coolers were a prominent part of a special meal served during a festive
outdoor event on Aug. 20, behind Orchestra Hall in Detroit’s Midtown district.
The occasion was a "Strides For Seniors" kickoff event hosted at St. Patrick Senior Center, 58 Parsons St., to call attention to the annual campaign that celebrates the vibrant programming — along with the dynamic people — that provide and utilize the vast resources offered by Detroit's neighborhood senior centers.
As a Thursday morning was turning into a warm, comfortable Thursday afternoon — about a half-mile from where a famous Vernors production and bottling plant once stood at Woodward and Forest, featuring a 55-foot sign of the bearded, winking Vernors gnome mascot — much smaller handmade signs, along with word of mouth, directed folks to the St. Patrick Senior Center yard.
Once there, the participants were in for an action-packed, two-hour event that went into overtime, which included a community yard sale featuring a broad variety of household items, homemade crafts and other treasures; music to hustle and reminisce to, delivered by DJ Timothy Fowler, and food showcasing Detroit classics like coney dogs, and of course, Boston Coolers, served in small cups that prevented waste and were easy to handle (even for the many people that walked away with two cups).
"A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of Vernors in a clear container with a straw — that's how we're serving our Boston Coolers to kick off Strides," said Temika Wallace, who did not seem to mind that for a day the nutritious comfort food that the St. Patrick Senior Center kitchen is known for was being replaced by a more picnic-style menu, which also included chicken sausage, corn on the cob, coleslaw, fruit and homemade cinnamon rolls to balance things out.
"This entire day is a blessing for me because I love working with our seniors. And it's wonderful to see them get out and enjoy themselves and interact with the public."
Wallace and St. Patrick Senior Center activity director Joanne Carter, who was standing nearby, confided that it was St. Patrick Senior Center Board Chairman John Bentley's idea to include Boston Coolers on the Detroit-themed menu for the day.
In fact, Carter and Wallace said that they are only just beginning to hear some of the folklore connected to the Boston Cooler's history in Detroit.
These stories include a belief held by many that the "Boston" in the Boston Cooler name comes from an ice cream parlor or a pharmacy with an in-store soda fountain located in Detroit's Boston-Edison Historic District that sold the treat and made it popular in the city. Other folks theorize that Boston was used instead of Detroit as a way to make it sound more highbrow.
Through the decades, a friendly debate also has arisen about what constitutes a true Detroit-born Boston Cooler, with some purists contending that the distinction between a Vernors float and a Boston Cooler is that the latter requires a thorough blending of the Vernors and ice cream into a smooth and frothy mix — in the sweet spot between a float and a milkshake — that puts the Boston Cooler in a class of its own.
But on Aug. 20, there was no debate among the many folks packed across the St. Patrick Senior Center lawn. With cups in hand, they were more than happy to share their own hometown Boston Cooler memories.
"They had a confectionary on Van Dyke and Charlevoix that sold floats and everything, and then the trucks would come by in the summertime with Boston Coolers," recalled native east-sider Robert Banks, a product of Van Dyke Elementary, Barbour Junior High School and Eastern High School (Class of 1968). "I used to sho' nuff holler for my momma to get some money when I saw those trucks coming."
Growing up during the late 1950s into the 1960s, Gloria Niles was being introduced to Boston Coolers around the same time as Banks, with the difference being that her experiences took place on Detroit's west side.
"I grew up with the Boston Cooler in the Dexter-Davidson area," said Niles, a 1969 Cass Technical High School graduate, who recently applied some of the skills she acquired from her performing arts curriculum while performing in a play at St. Patrick Senior Center. "From those days, I can still remember the ice cream boys that would come down the block riding on their bicycles."
At "90 years young," Gloria Hopkins, a 1954 graduate of Detroit's Miller High School, has done a bit more living than Jackson and Niles. But Hopkins was equally enthusiastic to describe where she first purchased a Boston Cooler, along with the historic Black Bottom neighborhood where those ice cream adventures and more took place.
"There was a little confectionary store down on St. Aubin (Street). And back during the day when I was growing up, that store was Black-owned," Hopkins remembered. "You could get a Boston Cooler or any other kind of ice cream there, and when you went back home you didn't have to worry about locking your door. As a matter of fact, we didn't even have keys.
"And everybody raised you. When they say the village raised the children, what that means is when you acted up, the neighbor would whoop you and then take you home where you got another whooping. But everyone was neighborly and everyone got along. There was no fussing and fighting and grumbling or anything like that."
Indeed, the pride in Hopkins' voice while describing the "peaceful and loving" community that she was a part of in Black Bottom could not be denied. However, Hopkins said there also was something "marvelous and wonderful" about what she has experienced at St. Patrick Senior Center for the past 30 years.
"I tell people that St. Patrick Senior Center, located at 58 Parsons, is the only senior center where you can get the whole alphabet," said Hopkins, who a few minutes later connected with her former Miller High schoolmate Frances Lewis. "Starting with A, we have arts and crafts; Bible study, book club; and on and on. The only thing that we don't have at St. Pat Senior Center is a swimming pool, a jacuzzi and a sauna — otherwise, St. Pat is awesome!
"They keep you busy and entertained doing positive things, as we enjoy each other. And there's always good food, just like today, especially the Boston Coolers."
Helping older adults 'Stride' smoothly through life in Detroit
What: St. Patrick Senior Center, 58 Parsons St. (off Woodward, behind Orchestra Hall).
Then and now: Founded by Sister Mary Watson in 1973 to serve the needy seniors of Detroit’s Cass Corridor, St. Patrick Senior Center has evolved into the city’s largest health, wellness and activities center for older adults. Today, St. Pat's provides daily meals, in-person and online wellness programs, transportation services, benefits assistance, in-home caregiving and assistance, digital training and activities ranging from dance classes to a book club and much more.
Upcoming events: Throughout September which is National Senior Center Month, Detroit Area Agency On Aging, Detroit Parks & Recreation and St. Patrick Senior Center will present Strides For Seniors, a campaign that celebrates Detroit’s neighborhood senior centers — “homes away from home” — that serve thousands of seniors from across Detroit and beyond. This year’s Strides For Seniors activities include two “Fridays Live” with music, food, activities and health checks on Sept. 11 at Crowell Recreation Center (16630 Lahser) and Sept. 18 at LA SED Senior Center (7150 W. Vernor). Both "Friday Lives" are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. And on Friday, Sept. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Palmer Park, the Healthy Aging Expo will be held including music, dancing, wellness exhibitors, health check, a 1-mile walk, a boxed lunch, raffles and more.
Learn more: Please visit https://stpatsrctr.org and https://stridesforseniors.org
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: At this Detroit celebration for seniors, Boston Coolers made a splash
